General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Sino-Soviet Union
中蘇共產黨總書記 |insignia = Communist Symbol.png |image = Xi Jinping 2016.jpg |incumbent = Xi Jinping |incumbentsince = May 9th, 2012 |style = Comrade (Formal) His excellency (international correspondence) |termlength = Six years (no restrictions on re-election) |formation = March 31st, 1946 |inaugural = Joseph Stalin |residence = Zhongnanhai and Novo-Ogaryov |appointer = National Assembly (Primary Stages) Central Committee (Final stages) }} The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Sino-Soviet Union (Russian: Генеральный секретарь ЦК Компартии Китайско-Советского Союза), Mandarin: 中蘇共產黨中央總書記) is the de-facto head of government of the Sino-Soviet Union as well as the official leader of the Communist Party of the Sino-Soviet Union. The General Secretary is closed by an election held first by the National Assembly and later by the Central Committee of the Communist Party during the final stages of the election which is done around the same time as the election of the Premier of the Sino-Soviet Union. In accordance with the Constitution of the Sino-Soviet Union, the General Secretary is the official leader of the Communist Party and shares executive power alongside the Premier, who's the head of state. Originally, the two offices had the same holder, but it was undone by Leonid Brezhnev as part of his reforms in 1972. As of 1991 as a result of the reforms by Mikhail Gorbachev, the General Secretary manages all aspects and the internal affairs of the communist party and ensures the ideological loyalty of its members, including the premier, and can be impeached if the Central Committee finds him un-loyal to the revolution. Xi Jinping has been the current General Secretary since May 9th, 2012 after the election was held that year and has worked alongside Vladimir Putin after he became Premier. While Xi has officially stated that he will ensure Putin's loyalty to the party, critics have accused such a reason as an excuse on Xi's inactions against Putin and other accusations of corruption and abuse within the office of both the premier and the general secretary. Powers and functions The General Secretary is the official leader of the Communist Party and leads every aspect of the party. All organizations and bodies affiliated with the party ultimately report to the General Secretary through the Central Committee which was originally lead by the General Secretary as well. In 1991, Gorbachev reformed the party and had the Central Committee monitor the actions of the General Secretary and would be lead by the office of the Chairman instead, but the General Secretary remained the ultimate leader and highest position in the communist party and the government. Domestic concerns and policies are handled by the General Secretary while the Premier deals with international affairs as well as defense. As General Secretary, the holder of the office is tasked with the goal of maintaining the loyalty of all of its members to the Communist ideology and the revolution as a whole. The Central Commission of Internal Affairs directly reports to the General Secretary and their goal is to monitor and report on the ideological loyalty of all known members of the party. In the case of the Premier, the General Secretary monitors him and accepts reports from cabinet meetings and files them to the Central Committee as a means of maintaining a system of checks and balances and reporting on the ideological loyalty of the nation's leader. Selection process The selection process of choosing the next General Secretary is handled by the Communist Party and all affiliated organizations within the party. The National Assembly holds primary elections for the candidates where regional assemblies in the Soviet republics vote on who should be the new General Secretary and after six weeks. During the final stages, the final decision is handed over to the Central Committee who holds their own personal vote and the victor in that election is the new General Secretary. The process is handled strictly by the party as a means of maintaining the loyalty of its members and they seek to prevent possible ideological "corruption" by potential candidates for the office of General Secretary. The Election Committee is solely responsible for all known elections and counts all votes casted by regional assemblies, the National Assembly, and the Central Committee at the final stages. The Chairman of the Election Committee then makes an address to the National Assembly and announces the next General Secretary after all of the votes are counted. In the event that an emergency election is needed, the process is shortened greatly and is handed down to the Central Committee who holds their own election via a meeting of the 400 members and the victor chosen is the newt to hold the office and much like regular elections, the outcome is announced by the Chairman of the Electoral Committee. List of General Secretaries Living former General Secretaries Mikhail Gorbachev.jpg|Mikhail Gorbachev (age 86), since 1993 Nikolai Ryzhkov.jpg|Nikolai Ryzhkov (age 87), since 2002 Hu Jintao Cannes2011.jpg|Hu Jintao (age 74), since 2012 Category:Titles Category:Sino-Soviet Union